EXPERTS have hailed a new idea which could see Oxford's homeless population housed in 'pods' suspended above public spaces in the city.

Developed by Oxford Brookes architecture students, the idea has been described as 'very exciting' in the battle to find new solutions to the city's growing rough sleeper problem.

Oxford Mail:

The designs unveiled at an end-of-year show would see the pods suspended on stilts above the Worcester Street car park so drivers could continue to use the space.

Each pod would be tailored to the needs of a specific homeless person where they could stay for up to six months, keeping them close to key city centre services.

The scheme is seen as a possible alternative to large hostels and would act as a pathway to finding a more permanent home.

Rachel Lawrence, the rough sleeping and homelessness manager for Oxford City Council, said: “I think it is fascinating. One of the things we are trying to develop is a city-wide conversation on rough sleeping.

"We believe so many people can help and share information and ideas like this.

“We are interested and we may feed it in to what we are doing – you never know people may see something like this here in Oxford at some time."

She added: "The thing that really interests me is that it is focussed on people who have experienced trauma.

"Some of these people have had terrible life experiences and getting back on the right road is not simple.

“It’s not just about putting a roof over somebody’s head, it’s got to come with the expert support they need and this gets them closer to that which is really exciting.”

Oxford Mail:

The students' designs were inspired by a pod housing concept suggested in 2016 by architects ZED Factory to build affordable homes on top of Oxford's Park-and-Ride car parks.

A trial of this scheme was offered to Oxford City Council as a way of providing cheap flats to get people on the housing ladder but never materialised.

The students were paired with a client of homeless charity Crisis Skylight, based at the Old Fire Station, to develop the idea to suit the needs of homeless people.

In other UK cities, temporary homes for rough sleepers have been constructed out of refurbished shipping containers in a bid to make the best use of small city centre spaces.

Andrew Gant, leader of the Liberal Democrats on Oxford City Council, said: “We are too stuck on old ideas to solve this crisis.

"Big hostels have their problems and new homes tend to be built out of the city centre, where people are far away from the services they need.

“Obviously you would have to think carefully about the practicalities of something like this but it is a great idea and brilliant to see young people being so involved in this issue that resonates very strongly with everyone.”

Student Georgina Moore, 20, turned one of the walls in her pod into a world map for her client, Rob, who is a bit of a 'wanderer'.

She also used curved walls to reflect his free-flowing personality.

Other students designed their space to better combat issues such a depression and post traumatic stress disorder.

Ms Moore said: "I think it is a solution.

"The good thing about it is that it doesn't use any extra space within the city.

"Traditionally big buildings have been used as temporary homes for homeless people but this could allow them to have their own space while being close to others and maintaining a social aspect."

The designs are now due to go on display at the Abercrombie building of the Oxford Brookes Headington Campus.